Saturday, March 15, 2014

If you feel we at ATC have been asleep at the wheel lately you're right, but we're not the only ones. We seem to be persona non grata with CNN PR lately, no press releases for the new Don Lemon show, the Sunni Hostin/Mark Geragos try out or even the stellar ratings that AC360 has accomplished this week. And to top that all off they aren't spoon feeding us the Sunday morning programming, we actually had to look it up ourselves. Oh the horror!
Even as CNN quality has let us down recently we always felt their PR department had our backs, guess we need to rethink that too. If you have a CNN related rant here's the place for it.

I think the coverage for the missing Malaysia jet has been outstanding. Anderson and Wolf are the best. I also really like Jim Sciutto. He is a great addition to CNN. My only complaint is that Don Lemon has been on way too much. He doesn't have the talent to be on this much. He is in need of a co-host, maybe Brooke Baldwin would be a good match.

I find it really surprising that they aren't cooperating with this site in the PR department.Either they are asleep at the wheel, which is very likely, or they've read some of the negativecomments, but you would think they'd acquire a tougher skin.If they took the criticism contructively, they would make the needed changes. It isn't just US complaining.And who would purposely run, a second rate documentary like Chicagoland the night they had their largest win in months, and the biggest story in months!That person should be fired on the spot. Save the documentaries that are subpar for slow news days.I've no background in journalism, but my common sense tells me, if you have big story, like the lost jet with hundreds aboard, you stay with it!Yes, CNN Management has shown us once again, that the network is run by a bunch of morons, and if this post bothers their egos, than let the chips fall where they may.

VICE summed up CNN the best these days.Shane Smith says CNN's mistakes are goodnews for him. Smith is right. CNN should betaking viewers into the news , giving us anup close and personal look. There is so muchbig international news in the cycle now. CNNshould be doing a much better job with all 3.Malaysia jet, Ukraine & Venezuela. Youngerviewers care about the news. A recent PewStudy says 71 % of 18-29 get their news fromthe internet, 55 % from TV, 22 % from newsparters & 19 percent from radio.. Reach outto them on social media and they will findyou on TV is you get it right with mobile.Millennials also consume media on multipledevices. So CNN needs a game plan.

Now we have something new to worry about....being hijacked in the air? Buildings are no longer a target.....?Gilda Radner, may she rest in peace, was right. It's always something.Glad the ATA team heard from CNN's PR people.At least we know they're still communicating with us.

Now we have something new to worry about....being hijacked in the air? Buildings are no longer a target.....?Gilda Radner, may she rest in peace, was right. It's always something.Glad the ATA team heard from CNN's PR people.At least we know they're still communicating with us.

Huffpost has a quote from John McCain, never one to hold back, "Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country."How profound.And McCain is a tired, old, resentful man, masquerading as a Senator from Arizona.Today he had an Op Ed piece in Sunday's NYT critcizing the Obama Adminstration for not taking a harder stand against, yes, Russia.His quote: "Obama makes the United States look weak."And if HE were President he'd what, have us go to war yet againso we wouldn't look weak??Please, tired old man, just go away. You lost and nobody except Lindsay wants to hear from you.

CNN just does not get it. Hollywood Deadline has the list of possible Piers Morgan replacements and there is not 1 single woman on the list. Why not give Michaela a shot ? Still a no women in prime time rule at CNN. Jeff Zucker has changed nothing. Maybe management has had it's head in the sand for so long that they did not notice that 2 women beat Piers Morgan badly in the ratings. More of the same from CNN.

3/17/14 So many interesting comments -CNN is sure in need of a shake up as well as programming changes -there were prsvious comments rs TedTurner taking over -ratings need to be better. The extended coverage of Flight 370 with AC was great-he had good knowlegable guests not afraid to ask the questions &stay with it. One of my complaints with CNN isthat Breaking News is only that when it happens ^for a short while after -why does every program host have to go over tge whoke thing adding their @cents worth would be nice to see whole change in programming. AC is no doubt one of the best if not the best at getting news out whether in studio or on location he is not afraud to go where others dont or wont. He likes ti be on the move &should be used to get stories of interest, news whatever.With his sharp mind he is capable of much more than sitting behind a desk reading news. His AC360Later program was good discussion, poorly promoted had good guests &should be brought back. Lets not just favor one political party/view broad opposing ideas make fir good discussion. Instead of running news reports all day get some interesting programs going -general interest -medical (SG) sports -travel -current affairs -weather (ChadMeyers is great) etc etcand run news on ticker at bottom of screen.How about Jay Leno at night -we dont need to see Anthony Bourdain all night. Burnett &Lemon ? Present management has not taken CNN to where it should be I ratings. I amno journalist but have been involved in writing &TV -a mature viewer who watches CNN for a variety of reasons. Live inCanada CNN gives better news coverage than here. You have good journalists use them welk -others cando something else. Hope any proposed changes bring good results.

CNN could learn some things from AJAM and VICE.The Baltimore Sun has an article about the value ofAJAM. Ironically, it has to do with journalism and thestrong commitment to investing in the news. In doingso, AJAM is becoming a valuable asset regardless of the ratings. For VICE it's the storytelling that makesthem unique. CNN should not try to be like FOX or MSNBC.

CNN is now trying to be the Comedy channel. Bill Weir kept smirking during the whole Piers Morgan show and seemed to be laughing about all the plane coverage. Yes, there has been a lot of coverage, but I don't think it was appropriate to act that way when 329 people are missing.

Wow, according to TVN CNN had a decent weekendwith their coverage of the mystery jet disappearance.It looks like CNN will get a ratings bump for March2014 because of high interest in the Malaysian jetmystery. Viewers are definitely interested.

If Aljazeera forces CNN to be better, that;s is a good thing. According to the cable network ranker, CNN had some 800,000 viewers in prime time while AlJazeera had 30,000. Keep in mind that AlJazeera is only in half the homes of CNN and the others. Previous week, AlJazeera had 19,000 prime time viewers. If this pace keeps of for AlJazeera, the network could see anywhere form 50,00 viewers plus by the time their 1st year anniversary rolls around. If AlJazeera somehow gets closer to 100,000, that is big news.CNN has to get better. There is still a long way for AlJazeera to go but if they move past FBN for 2014 that will lead to wider distribution. There are some unanswered questions here : is the bump do to the breaking news cycle or is AlJazeera bringing in new viewers who don't usually watch cable news or have been seeking an alternative ? Are they younger viewers or upscale higher educated types ? Keep an eye on this. The biggest cable news story of 2014 could be here comes Aljazeera.

CNN must stop speculating on what MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED to flight 370and give us something NEW that is actually relevant and solid.Anderson told Seth Meyers how he is "obessed" with the missing aircraft.Really? Or is it the ratings bonanza that CNN is obsessed with and hasn't seen for years.Stop this, 'it could be this or it could be that'....which eventually will get boring.Maybe Anderson should stop texting everybody, and do some good old leg work...you know the kind of work investigative journalists USED TO DO TO GET FACTS.Enough with the "experts" who aren't experts but panelists seeking hello, air time, and that's no pun intended.

Big news about that missing Malaysia jet. Al Jazeera just aired breaking news saying the Australian PM says the plane may have been found. Come on CNN. Right now CNN is replaying 360. MSNBC is dong the same thing with All In.

CNN finally did bring in Don Lemon and eventually Anderson Cooper. CNN started with coverage from CNN International. I'm confused. Is CNN really live at 10, why did it take so long for Don Lemon to get on camera. Obama hinted saying something earlier. That plane has very secret high tech gear. The United States wants to find the plane and we have a very close relationship with Australian agencies. The ratings bump will continue for CNN. It will take some time to get to the debris.

Wow. You guys are good. Really love this blog because you guys actually watch CNN and thecompetition. AJAM is on live at eleven so theybenefited. On TV Newser, there is no mentionof AJAM at all. Looking at the time of the poston this blog, it's clear that the breaking newshappened before 11:30 and that means AJAMbroke the story 1st.. The Ukraine story is alsobig news now.

Okay, obviously there is a huge time difference between Australia and the United States. The continent is 14 hours ahead of our time. This is a very important fact that CNN is ignoring. It's no doubt that CNN will get a huge ratings bump. IMHO, MSNBC is the biggest loser. The overnight ratings should be interesting as well. Once the news broke it will be interesting to see if viewers stuck around all night long and into the morning.

Anderson Cooper has been doing a wonderful job anchoring CNN's coverage of the Malaysia jet. However, Don Lemon is terrible. A black hole theory about the missing jet was low. I could not watch CNN with Don Lemon on with Anderson. I turned the channel. Lemon is being widely mocked and he deserves it. This is what hurts CNN.

3/20/14 I have to agree with Anonymous comment above re Anderson Cooper's covrrage of flight 377. Think he has gone above &beyond tto keep us informed but then would expect nothing less from him.Don Lemon's coverage is about same as Erin Burnettt & just donot watch I think CNN is not flattered by this. Did someone say there are changes in thd wind !! One can only hope.

I have become increasingly critical of MSNBC and in particular, Chris Hayes, for not covering flight 370 and its disappearance.While it is certainly true, that Don Lemon never did the story justice by saying "Perhaps the jet is in a black hole," which means nothing, something did happen to this flight and we can't afford to leave it to chance to find the remains of thisaircraft.With all our technological advancements, you would think that we would have been more prepeared for something of this nature. It is only logical to think that whatever goes up, must come down....somewhere, and to leave the story without closure, as Chris Hayes implies, after pouring billions into the space program in previous decades, just says we know less about space and the environment than ever before.If there is a "black hole," it is the void in our scientific knowledge, and our lack of expertise in the perils of aviation in the twenty first century.

ITS NOT A BLACK HOLE!! I think you made Chris Hayes' point... when there is a lack of information you dont get to fill the void with stupid or dangerous conspiracies. You dont get to turn it into a parlor game of "whats your favorite conspiracy" like CNN has done. Cover the story with facts, proper context and history. BUT WHEN THERE IS NOTHING TO REPORT JUST STFU.

@eg: Is English you native language or do you have difficulty comprehending?What exactly was your point in denouncing my argument??I merely said the story doesn't stop there just because Hayes doesn't want to do anymore leg work.And MSNBC has suffered in the ratings because of it, according to TVN.

Rachel Maddow was criticized recently for covering the Chris Christie scandal at great length,BUT, she covered info that was NEW.CNN is over exposing 'what they DON'T KNOW' and speculating just to fill air time, and that is the difference.If it is new information that is being exposed then it deserves focus, but if it is mere opinion, and really none of these panelists on CNN are experts just because they have a pilots license, than talk is cheap, and they are, indeed, wasting our timefor a ratings boost.

No doubt CNN is getting a ratings boost but that does not justify the quality (or lack thereof) of CNN'S "journalism." MSNBC will freely admit their hit in the ratings is because they arent going wall-to-wall on flight 370. But they made a conscious decision to have standards.

When it comes to Al Jazzera , you all might be on to something. Media Life Magazine reported last week that Al Jazzeera topped Fox Business in the 25-54 demo. FBN is in more homes. Looking at the data on TVN & TV by the Numbers it is evident that there was only a 9K difference in viewers. FBN had some 8K viewers in the demo, Perhaps this explains why buyers are thinking about this network. Al Jazeera is building an audience that seems to be outside the viewership of the others. Just last week, Mashable had an interesting article about what drives viewers to the news. It turns out that is is all about the subject matter that will bring in the viewers. Not ideology,politics or age, that means that cable news is barking up the wrong tree. It's the news that drives viewers. The reason why this matters : Al Jazeera is in half the homes of CNN,FOX & MSNBC. If the network grows, this means wider distribution. All Al Jazeera needs is to grow. A gain of 1K a week can make a big difference. Could it be that it was a mistake for CNN to ignore the masses ?

Caught Miles O'Brien on 360 and his appearance has really changed.His beard makes him look way olderthan he actually is and he used to look youthful and happy.I know about his tragedy but I couldn't stop thinking, is this the same guy that left CNN a few years back?He said he was in "a really dark place after his accident."From his appearance, he still is.

If Chris Christie was "clueless," as he told Diane Sawyer, about the workings of his own inner staff, and their scheming, deceitful little plot on the GWB, what does this statement tell you about Christie's ability to govern?It reminds us of Nixon, going on TV to tell Americans,"I am not a crook."And we all know how that ended.

Someone has to tell Chris Christie, that that is what Lawyers do....presume you are not guilty."Hey my lawyer says I'm innocent,"does NOT MEAN that you are.Most good attorneys try to pin the blame on someone else...you know, like what your doing, blaming your staff.And next time your interviewed, try not to sound like Tony Soprano, although he was more endearing to viewers than you areto your constituency.

Chris Christie's continues to be a "piece of work."Now David Samson who was Christie's friend and Port Authority Appointee, has given his resignation.And Christie, who knows he's not guilty of anything, because his lawyers told him so, told a packed audience, that Samson's resignation was no surprise.Really, on the exact same day that "Christie's attorney's focused on a lovefest between two of his staff members," Samson resigns. Just Coincidence folks.And what does THAT lovefest have to do with Fort Lee?Just asking....You mean during this "intimate relationship between two staff members," various ways of entering NYC from Fort Lee, over the GWB, were discussed at great length??Maybe I'm behind the times, but it would seem to me, a couple "in love," might be talking about other things, rather than ways to say, "tie up traffic, Chris."Or is this just one of your attorney's diversion tactics?It ain't working.

New York City's loss is ABC's NewsDivisions gain.Ray Kelly was the Police Commissioner under the BloombergAdministration from 2002-2013.He had the best command of the police force there ever was, right after 9/11. Nothing got past him and his fleet, and he was interviewed twice by 60 Minutes for his expertise in keeping NYC safe. He will be missed. Personally he was tough, but personable.He is most noted for saying, "The terrorists can be wrong many times. We can't afford to be wrongonce."